Trayce Thompson's career trajectory is a lot like his brother Klay's team, the Golden State Warriors. He was very very good, and then out of nowhere he just instantly stopped being good for a couple of years, the league moved on, and now all of the sudden he's extremely good again as if the last few years didn't just happen.
In Trayce's case, he had a decent rookie season as a member of the Chicago White Sox, was collateral damage in the deal that brought Todd Frazier to Chicago, and had a very starry season as a bench bat for the Dodgers in 2016. That was the last notable thing he did for 6 years. He spent that period tanking in both the majors and the minors, failing even with the White Sox, missing all of the 2020 season because he was still basically a minor leaguer, somehow figuring out how to hit home runs again in Columbus and Iowa, struggling for the Cubs and Padres, and was bottoming out in Toledo before the Dodgers brought him back.
And then, naturally, once he was back in LA, Trayce Thompson played some of the best baseball he'd ever played, hitting .268 with 38 RBIs and 13 homers in 74 games. It baffled me. How was Thompson back NOW, and why was it with the Dodgers again? Why and how? Apparently it was a mix of circumstances and new tactics. And now, after 3 games of 2023, he's responsible for a 3-homer game and leads the league in RBIs with 8.
I...Trayce Thompson's on a team with Mookie Betts, Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman and he's really hitting better than all of them right now. Blows my mind.
As a Thompson skeptic, I am gonna be spending the rest of the month waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because this can't be real, can it? Did Trayce Thompson really just bottom out for 6 years and then suddenly remember how to hit major league pitching? Is this a more nepotism-y version of Rich Hill?
The Dodgers themselves are doing well so far, and are getting the most out of newcomers like David Peralta, James Outman and Miguel Rojas. Look, this isn't the homegrown masterpiece that a lot of prior Dodgers teams were, and it may be slightly artificial, but I do see them doing well this year. They're certainly doing better than the Padres right now, so maybe that's a sign that I was off pre-season.
Coming Tomorrow- Local ace can't stop throwing strikes; film at 11.
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